I don’t mind being up at 5.30 in the morning, at least not at this time of year. It’s quiet and peaceful, bright and clear. Despite a slight ache at the back of my eyes, so am I.
Dozens of invisible birds are singing, although I think I’ve missed the dawn chorus by a couple of hours. I often wish I could identify them, but I think that’s a yet another skill I will have to forgo. I see that one of our local nature parks has a ‘dawn chorus walk’, which involves turning out at four in the morning to wander the woods round being told what you’re listening to. I wonder if you can combine it with the ‘bat walk’ at dusk and some sort of nocturnal creatures walk in between. You could call it ‘Bats, badgers and birdsong’.
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England’s cricket team created what the press described as a sound platform yesterday and ‘are in a strong position, going into the second day.’ Cook – and I’m pleased to see him doing well, because he’s a class batsman and has had trouble establishing himself – is ‘well set’. Let’s see. He and Collingwood, ‘Mr Reliable’, have to start again this morning. Cook has just got his century and that often seems to have a negative psychological effect on a batsman, as if they’re thinking the job’s done and they can stop concentrating. I often think it would be a good idea to scrap all the records of century-makers and make 150 the score that was commemorated.
What’s happening to umpires? Another shambles over bad light yesterday. It seems that ever since Darrel Hare was hounded out last year they’ve totally lost their grip.
Just a mention of football. Lincoln City lost in the play-offs and it’s for the best. They are not a Division One team. And Lincoln won’t have to endure visitations by Leeds after all.
* * *
I received some feedback from the RSPB the other day about the Big Garden Birdwatch for which I spent an hour staring out of the window in January.
Dozens of invisible birds are singing, although I think I’ve missed the dawn chorus by a couple of hours. I often wish I could identify them, but I think that’s a yet another skill I will have to forgo. I see that one of our local nature parks has a ‘dawn chorus walk’, which involves turning out at four in the morning to wander the woods round being told what you’re listening to. I wonder if you can combine it with the ‘bat walk’ at dusk and some sort of nocturnal creatures walk in between. You could call it ‘Bats, badgers and birdsong’.
* * *
England’s cricket team created what the press described as a sound platform yesterday and ‘are in a strong position, going into the second day.’ Cook – and I’m pleased to see him doing well, because he’s a class batsman and has had trouble establishing himself – is ‘well set’. Let’s see. He and Collingwood, ‘Mr Reliable’, have to start again this morning. Cook has just got his century and that often seems to have a negative psychological effect on a batsman, as if they’re thinking the job’s done and they can stop concentrating. I often think it would be a good idea to scrap all the records of century-makers and make 150 the score that was commemorated.
What’s happening to umpires? Another shambles over bad light yesterday. It seems that ever since Darrel Hare was hounded out last year they’ve totally lost their grip.
Just a mention of football. Lincoln City lost in the play-offs and it’s for the best. They are not a Division One team. And Lincoln won’t have to endure visitations by Leeds after all.
* * *
I received some feedback from the RSPB the other day about the Big Garden Birdwatch for which I spent an hour staring out of the window in January.
I was surprised at how few birds I actually saw, but apparently that was a common report. The experts attribute that to the mildness of the weather, which meant that birds were not so dependent on domestic gardens to find food. That’s looking on the bright side.
It still seems to be a fact that the most common birds, sparrows and starlings, are declining. Finches and tits are doing well, but for me the most worrying trend is the decline of the song thrush (or the mavis as it was once called). The last thrush I saw was some time last year. It was a friendly creature, not exactly tame but quite happy to look up from pecking at the ground only a couple of yards from me and exchange greetings as I walked by.
We have plenty of crows, who strut along the middle of the road, arrogant and scruffy. I was watching a couple of them stalking a cat the other day. I noticed a cat ambling across a field behind my flat and realised that two crows were following it, one to the left, one to the right. The cat was attempting an air of nonchalance, but its tail was wagging. Each time it slowed down the crows would hop forward to urge it on, occasionally flapping into the air. They must have pursued it for 50 yards before they decided that it had left their territory and learned its lesson.
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Men can get into trouble these days when attempting to tell a woman how attractive she is. Might a modern phrase be more politically correct? How about ‘fit for purpose’.
